Hands-on: The HTC One with Android 4.2.2 and Sense 5

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The only ding in the HTC One’s reputation when it launched was that it didn’t come with Android 4.2.2. Being an update behind hasn’t slowed the phone down, but the added polish from 4.2.2 will surely make the One shine just a little brighter.

There’s a leaked build of Android 4.2.2 for the HTC One that is floating around the web right now. It’s not official, so it’s likely not 100% finished, but it paints a fantastic picture of what to expect for the HTC One and future Android-based phones from HTC. This build incorporates many of the features users have been asking for as adjustments to Sense UI, as well as the enhancements offered by the latest version of Android.

I loaded this build on a One to take it for a spin, and walked away pleasantly surprised.

Android 4.2.2 with Sense 5 is not a major overhaul. For the most part, your phone will look and run exactly the same way as it did before. What you will find as you explore the ROM, however, are a handful of small points of polish and some features that were missing from the One launch.

The biggest change you’ll see is the Quick Settings panel, which now lives at the top right of the notification tray. You can either swipe down with one finger and tap the icon to access this panel, or you can swipe down with two fingers and be taken immediately to a grid of settings that can be turned on or off with a simple button press. There’s a few extra buttons here, compared to vanilla Android 4.2.2.

One of the more interesting additions is the screenshot button. Tapping this will cause the notification tray to retract, and whatever is behind the drawer will then be captured in a screenshot.

The notification tray is empty now, which means not only are your expandable notifications unfettered, but you now have the interactive notifications from Android 4.2.2. This is one of the best features from the latest version of Android, and is completely untouched by Sense. Your notifications look and act exactly as you would expect, if you are familiar with how they work on a Nexus.

If you choose to enable it, you can have your menu button back in this new build. There’s now two different function sets for the Home button, allowing you to long press for either Google Now or the menu button. If you choose to long press for menu, the black bar will disappear from the UI entirely and you’ll still be able to swipe up on the Home key to access Google Now. The swipe up gesture isn’t as smooth as it probably could be, but it is worth pointing out again that this is a leaked and unfinished build of the software.

If you’re a fan of HTC Highlights, you’ll find a handful of new image filters and songs to choose from. This will allow for a more diverse selection of videos, but is ultimately only useful if you use this feature a lot. You still can’t add your own song, but the auto magic of Highlights is still one of the things that make the HTC One truly unique.

We’ll be keeping an eye out for more builds like this, and with any luck this leak means that there will be an OTA update headed for HTC One phones any day now. This feature set is exactly the kind of update we were hoping for with the One, and will make it even easier to recommend it to users of any skill level.